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Enjoy your staycations at Illinois state wallet parks this year becausenext year they probably will cost you a lot more.

Camping fees went up this year — costs for sites offeringelectrical service doubled — and don’t be surprised ifnext year you have to pay to get into parks and don’t besurprised if you have to pay more to fish and hunt.

According to a legislative staff analysis, the Illinois Departmentof Natural Resources’ core state funding from the generalrevenue fund was $127 million in 2003, the last year before Gov.Rod Blagojevich got involved with budgets. General revenue was $67million in fiscal year 2008 and would have gone up to $70 millionif not for Blagojevich’s most recent round of cuts. Instead,funding will be down to $51 million.

In 2003, about 2,300 people worked for the DNR; today it’sdown to about 1,700.

Jeff Lampe of the Peoria Journal Star recently reported that themost recent DNR cuts would mean 163 more jobs lost.

“I do know that the General Assembly’s budget as passedwould have begun to reverse some of the precipitous cuts to DNR ofthe past seven years,” said Anders Lindall, public affairsdirector for the American Federation of State, County and MunicipalEmployees Council 31. “But regrettably the governor acted tocut funding for DNR staff even below last year’s levels inevery key area. ... All these divisions will take further cuts tofront-line staff if the governor’s vetoes are notreversed.”

The governor’s latest cuts could close Wildlife State Park, a2,000-acre zoological park near Peoria.

Adriana Colindres of the State Journal-Register in Springfieldreported that the park lost $828,200 in state funding — abouthalf of its operating costs. Unless the governor has a change ofheart or unless the General Assembly overrides the governor’sveto, the park’s future is in jeopardy.